It's tempting to change tactics completely. But busting through a weight-loss plateau is all about tweaking the diet you're on, not launching a whole new one. When Tufts University researchers recently tested the effectiveness of four different weight-loss plans on 160 people, they found that the diet didn't matter so much as your ability to stick with it. Of the 25 percent who lasted a year, all lost at least 5 percent of their total body weight, regardless of whether they were using Atkins or The Zone to do it.

Of course, all the scientific studies in the world won't make you feel better when you're staring down at a scale that's stuck just a few pounds shy of your goal weight. To get you through that sticky wicket, we found six different women on six different diets with just one thing in common: They're stuck too. But with the expert strategies we've lined up, they won't be for long. And neither will you. Also check out WH's "My Big Fat Diet-Busting Day" for more dieting experiences from real women.

Erica Rosenthal, 25, 5'9''

Current Weight: 170Ideal Weight: 155The Diet: Weight Watchers

The Plateau: Off and on Weight Watchers for nearly 4 years, Erica, a marketing coordinator, came within 3 pounds of her goal weight last summer, then grew complacent and lost much of her progress. Factor in a slew of Christmas cookies, a boyfriend who fell off the weight-loss wagon with her, and lots of dinners out — and by New Year's, she was re-upping last year's weight-loss resolution and redoubling her efforts. She'll down a bowl of cereal with skim milk for breakfast, grab a salad with grilled chicken for lunch, snack on Gummi bears, and, at night, heat up a frozen meal if she's not out on the town. Erica also rejoined her gym on January 1, and power walks for 30 minutes three times a week in the hopes of burning off extra calories. She's trimmed off much of what she regained, but still has 15 stubborn pounds left to lose. "Basically, I've been on a diet on and off since I was 11 years old," she says, "and I'm a little tired. Weight Watchers is the first program that didn't feel like a diet to me. I just hit some roadblocks with it and I'm feeling discouraged."

Diet Diagnosis Learn New Math: "Find satisfaction in the right places," says Carolyn O'Neil, R.D., author of The Dish on Eating Healthy and Being Fabulous! For example, instead of eating a whole bagel with the allotted 2 tablespoons of tasteless fat-free cream cheese (230 calories) for breakfast, have a half bagel with just a bit of the real stuff (130 calories). "You'll cut 100 total calories, and the fat in the regular cream cheese will help keep your hunger at bay," O'Neil says. You'll also accrue fewer points, which means more for later.

Form a Tag Team: Your significant other may be the best thing that ever happened to your life, but he can be the worst thing in the world for your diet. "Never compare weight loss with your boyfriend or husband," says Cynthia Sass, R.D., and author of Your Diet Is Driving Me Crazy. One of nature's dirty little jokes is that men are more likely to lose more weight in the same period of time than women. Find other ways to encourage mutual weight loss, Sass says. Treat each other with impromptu foot rubs instead of brownies, or trade your weekend restaurant routine for a movie or card game.

Fitness Fix Gab and Go: Add 15 minutes to your three power walks to burn about 100 extra calories. "Once you're dressed and ready to go, why not go the extra distance," O'Neil says. "If you're bored, grab your cell and phone a friend." You won't even notice 15 minutes has elapsed. In fact, you could probably go even longer.

Jessica Johnson, 26, 5'5''

Current Weight: 122Ideal Weight: 115The Diet: Low-fat

The Plateau: As an actress, Jessica watches her diet, but on set she faces a craft service table that satisfies her sweet tooth but not her diet regimen. And as a single woman in the city, her dinner choices are always a hurdle. "I'm not what you'd call a good cook, so finding affordable, healthy options is tough," she says. On good days, she'll have a bowl of healthy cereal with skim milk for breakfast, a low-fat wrap for lunch, and light pasta with red sauce for dinner. On bad ones . . . well, anything goes. Workouts are spotty at best too. Jessica occasionally squeezes in a class at the gym, but overall feels lost and overwhelmed. "I don't necessarily know what exactly I need to be eating or what is the most effective way for me to work out. I just know that things need to change."

Diet Diagnosis Make Friends with Fat: Cutting too much fat out of your diet will leave you feeling dissatisfied, and that opens the door for temptation. "Nuts, seeds, and avocados are all high in fat but also loaded with healthful oils that should be included in a balanced diet," says David Katz, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine, epidemiology, and public health at Yale University and author of The Way to Eat.

Lunch a Bunch: "If getting a nutritious dinner is tough for you, make lunch your principal meal," Dr. Katz says. "Then use dinner as a time to catch up on your vegetables. Keep pre-washed veggies in your fridge and have a large mixed-green salad every night for dinner. Add canned tuna, diced chicken, shrimp, tofu, or hard-boiled eggs if you've missed out on protein during the day."

Fitness Fix Get Personal: "You might benefit from investing in a personal trainer for just 6 to 8 weeks," Dr. Katz says. "You can work out a regimen that fits into your life and gives you aerobic and resistance routines." Or consider joining a gym, such as Curves, with beginner-friendly training circuits. Then bypass the elliptical trainers and head straight for the weights. "If you want to lose 7 or so pounds of body fat, lose the first 2 by building a couple pounds of muscle with resistance training sessions," Dr. Katz says. "That, in turn, will help you burn up the rest."

The Plateau: As a reporter for ABC News, Gloria's life is in a constant state of controlled chaos, and so is her diet. She logs long hours and days on the road, where food and exercise are difficult to manage. While covering the 2004 campaign, she packed on an extra 12 pounds. Once the votes were tallied, Gloria hired a nutritionist who placed her on a low-fat, low-carb, low-sugar diet. She was quickly rewarded with a 5-pound weight loss. But every time she hit the road again, she tumbled back into bad habits: drinking too much coffee, too many beers or glasses of red wine, and munching on whatever food was around. Now she's stuck in maintenance, not loss. "Losing these last few pounds requires continuity," she says. "And I just don't feel like I have that. I have a good plan, but it's hard to keep to it cleanly."

Diet Diagnosis Eat and Run: "You can, and must, take food with you when you're out on the road," Dr.Katz says. "You should take a snack pack loaded with nutritious food everywhere. It's the diet equivalent of an umbrella. Throw in some fresh fruit, dried fruit, a mix of whole-grain cereals, nonfat yogurt, and fresh veggies." Then when you're hungry — and only eat when you really are hungry — a snack pack will provide shelter from a nutritional disaster zone.

Solve a Drinking Problem: Drinking more than one calorie-dense alcoholic beverage a day isn't doing your diet any favors. "When socializing, find a nonalcoholic drink that works for you — perhaps Pellegrino with a wedge of lime," Dr. Katz says. (Seltzer and diet tonic are other no-calorie substitutions.) "Have your one glass of wine or mixed drink, but then nurse Pellegrino the rest of the time."

Fitness Fix Find Fitness Wherever You Can: "If you spend long hours on a plane or in a car, develop an isometric routing routine," Dr. Katz says. "This involves tensing muscles against one another and holding them for periods of time." To burn more calories in a session, focus on the larger muscles: abdominals, buttocks, thighs, and hamstrings. "I would recommend four sets of 30 seconds each for these muscle groups. But during a long trip, you can work the entire body."

Medina Senghore, 28, 5'6''

Current Weight: 134Ideal Weight: 125The Diet: South Beach

The Plateau: College — the best 4 years of your life . . . until you graduate with a diploma and the extra pounds you gained. Medina, an attorney, is still trying to lose those last 9 reminders of the frat parties and late-night cram sessions. Off and on the South Beach Diet for more than a year, she always sees success when she begins the first phase of the diet, which restricts virtually all carbs. But after slowly incorporating "good" carbs back into her diet, she tends to fall off the plan completely. The culprit? Sweets. "They're my downfall," she says. "Anything with chocolate, as well as peanut butter cookies, Twinkies, and Haagen-Dazs mango sorbet — once I start, I'll eat the whole thing." Then when the scale swings upward, Medina starts the whole process over again. Her fitness regimen takes the same path of wayward good intentions. "When I start, I stick to it, and then once I break my routine, I just don't go back," she says. "I do take a dance or yoga class once a week, and sometimes while I watch TV I'll do situps or squats or use my ThighMaster. I also walk whenever I can."

Diet Diagnosis Restrict the Restrictions: "Instead of constantly returning to Phase I, focus on Phase II," says Catherine Christie, Ph.D., R.D., coauthor of Fat Is Not Your Fate. Phase I is designed for the short term, and it can be hard to maintain. But Phase II is more forgiving. "You add whole grains, low-fat dairy, and whole fruit back into Phase II, and have a well-balanced diet that still contributes to weight loss."

Earn Some Sweet Equity: "You should have some flexibility to enjoy occasional sweets," Dr. Christie says. "Use your hand as your portion guide, and during a week's time, you can have a glass of alcohol or two fist-size portions of sweets and treats not on your recommended food list. That allows flexibility and doesn't encourage overeating." For example, scoop out one serving of sorbet (1/4 of the container) into a separate bowl, and then pop the carton back into the freezer; don't take it with you to the sofa. Or keep Hershey's Miniatures in that hard-to-reach cabinet over the oven. At 46 calories each, you can savor one without doing serious damage to your diet.Fitness Fix

Best Food Forward: To establish some discipline, find a routine that provides you with an easy way to measure your progress. "I would recommend buying a pedometer," Dr. Christie says. "Count the steps in your day and set a goal to eventually reach 10,000 a day." Roughly 10,000 steps equals 5 miles and has been shown to aid weight loss. "Aim to increase your count by 1,000 steps each week (that's less than 200 each day), until your daily total reaches 10,000."

Carol Pavich, 34, 5'7''

Current Weight: 138Desired Weight: 128The Diet: Low-calorie

The Plateau: A mother of two, Carol's trying to shed her extra pregnancy pounds, left over from the birth of her second child, 4 years ago. With 10 pounds left to go, she's stalled, and has compensated by cutting even more calories. A typical meal plan for Carol includes fruit and a low-fat waffle for breakfast, a salad of veggies with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a slice of cheese for lunch, a snack of baby carrots, and chicken or fish with a side of vegetables and salad at dinner. At times her willpower evaporates, leaving her holding the bag — of low-fat cookies. Carol teaches jazz dance once a week and tries to hit the gym twice a week, where she'll do cardio for 25 minutes followed by weight machines. "I would love to get to the gym more, but I just don't have the time or someone I trust to leave my kids with," she says.

Diet Diagnosis Double Up: "You're definitely not eating enough; this is only about 732 calories," Dr. Christie says. "For your height and weight, you need twice that amount." The satisfaction those additional calories bring will help curb temptations to overeat or munch when you're with your children.

Tap Protein Power: "You should add more protein for satiety to all meals," Dr. Christie says. "Then you're less likely to overeat the stuff around the house. You could add peanut butter to your waffle, put turkey or a hard-boiled egg on your salad, and snack on nuts and dried fruit rather than carrots. You also need to add more calcium sources like skim milk and yogurt, and whole grains like brown rice in a stir fry or a whole-wheat roll with salad."

Fitness Fix Babies Are No Excuse: You're not the only parent who faces the "What do I do with the kids while I exercise?" problem. And home workouts won't cut it. A recent Australian study found that women who exercised at home were four times more likely to skip sessions than women who worked out at a gym. Nearly 70 percent of gyms now offer supervised child care for only a few bucks extra per month, according to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association. Find one in your neighborhood. Or sign the kids up for swimming lessons; while they're learning a new crawl, you can slip in a workout.

Ariane Hundt, 28, 5'9''

Current Weight: 147Desired Weight: 140The Diet: The Abs Diet

The Plateau: When Ariane, a marathon runner, blew out her knee in October, her exercise regimen screeched to a halt. Physical rehabilitation was tough, but the unexpected 15-pound weight gain was even tougher. To lose the baggage, she turned to the Abs Diet, where the goal is to eat six small meals a day (really!) and build lean muscle while shedding fat. Her job as a market researcher for the pharmaceutical industry goes from busy to ridiculously busy, and though she squeezes in five of the daily meals, she usually opts out of the sixth. And her lunch choices are far from ideal. Although she'll start her day with oatmeal and snack on almonds, fruit, and yogurt, she'll often snag a crusty, fat-laden sandwich or a cup of soup for lunch from the coffee shop below her office. Her boyfriend can also be her undoing. "He loves to eat sweets, so if he has them around, I have less willpower. I give in, thinking it's just one time, but then I cave completely," she says. Physically, she's eager to return to form and complete the New York City Marathon this fall. She's slowly working in three 6-mile runs, two weight-training sessions, and one yoga class per week. It's a start, but not enough to push her past her plateau.

Diet Diagnosis Just Desserts: "There's a simple way to solve the sixth meal problem — add a dessert after dinner," says David Zinczenko, author of The Abs Diet and editor-in-chief of Men's Health. "Just make sure you have better-for-you options. Have a scoop of light ice cream or a carton of low-fat yogurt with some fresh fruit. Or drink a glass of low-fat chocolate milk. Any of those options will satisfy your sweet tooth and are rich in protein, which will help keep you satisfied."

Fitness Fix Beat an Iron Deficiency: "Add in one more weight-lifting circuit and subtract one of the cardio workouts," Zinczenko says. "A little extra muscle mass will eat up more calories without making you bulky and will rev up your metabolism not just during the workout, but for hours after it."

Go Harder, Not Longer: "Instead of making your goal about mileage, switch it so that it's more of a high-intensity workout instead of a steady state," Zinczenko says. "In the same 25 to 35 minutes, do periods of high-intensity work with low-intensity — 1 minute off and 1 minute on, or 1 minute hard and 2 minutes easy. That kind of interval training can really kick up the calorie and fat burn."

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